#121 Sidebar: John F. Kennedy’s Speech of July 4, 1946
The History of the Americans
Jack Henneman
4.9 • 632 Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2023
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Longstanding listeners know that we have a tradition of talking about great speeches in American history on Memorial Day and July 4, when many such great speeches have been delivered. If you search in your engine of choice, you will find various listicles of great Independence Day speeches. They always include Ronald Reagan’s in 1984, FDR’s in 1942 – the first 4th of July of our participation in World War II – and Frederick Douglass’s famous speech in 1852. The pantheon of such speeches also includes the Independence Day speech of 29-year-old John F. Kennedy in 1946, the first 4th after World War II. That speech, which was very much about one understanding of American history, is the subject of this episode.
The setting for the speech was Boston’s Faneuil Hall. The occasion was Boston’s Independence Day celebration. The context was Jack Kennedy’s first campaign for public office, for the Democratic nomination for the Massachusetts 11th Congressional District.
Twitter: @TheHistoryOfTh2
Facebook: The History of the Americans Podcast
Subscribe by email
Selected references for this episode
Robert Dallek, An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917 – 1963
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the History of the Americans podcast, episode 121. |
| 0:11.5 | I'm your host, Jack Heneman, and I'm recording this episode on July 3, 2023, in New Orleans. |
| 0:19.6 | We are telling the history of the lands now encompassed by the United States |
| 0:23.7 | from the beginning without presentism. This episode is a sidebar, which is our term for an episode |
| 0:31.1 | that is off the timeline of the history of the Americans. Our way of signaling that the episode |
| 0:36.7 | did not be listened to in sequence. No prerequisites. |
| 0:42.3 | Longstanding listeners know that we have a tradition of talking about great speeches in American |
| 0:47.6 | history on Memorial Day and July 4th, when many such great speeches have been delivered. |
| 0:53.6 | If you search in your engine of choice, you will find various listicles of great Independence Day speeches. |
| 1:00.0 | They always include Ronald Reagan's in 1984. |
| 1:04.0 | FDRs in 1942, which was the 1st Fourth of July of our participation in World War II, and Frederick Douglass's famous speech in |
| 1:13.3 | 1852. The pantheon of said speeches also includes the Independence Day speech of 29-year-old |
| 1:21.6 | John F. Kennedy in 1946, the first fourth after World War II. |
| 1:28.8 | That speech, which was very much about one understanding of American history, |
| 1:34.4 | the topic of this podcast, is the subject of this episode. |
| 1:39.3 | The setting for the speech was Boston's Faniel Hall. |
| 1:44.0 | The occasion was Boston's Faniel Hall. The occasion was Boston's |
| 1:45.7 | Independence Day celebration. |
| 1:48.7 | The context was Jack |
| 1:50.0 | Kennedy's first campaign for public |
| 1:52.1 | office for the Democratic |
| 1:54.1 | nomination for the Massachusetts |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Jack Henneman, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Jack Henneman and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.